


Meeting You

by SoManyThings (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: First Meeting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-02
Updated: 2012-08-02
Packaged: 2017-11-11 07:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/475912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/SoManyThings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three years have passed, and it's time for the remaining players to meet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meeting You

**Author's Note:**

> For imperfect-magician, who won my writing giveaway on tumblr.

Three years. John Egbert had been on the same ship with the same people for three whole years. It was tiring. There was the same scenery day after day after day. Being on deck was alright for a while, but the colours around them stayed the same. There was nothing new to it. Jade, Davesprite and the other sprites offered some relief from his boredom. There were pranks pulled on Davesprite, adventures around the ship, movies, pestering their friends on the meteor… But it all got boring so quickly. John was going to turn 16 in a couple of days, and yet his teenage years so far had been trapped on a meteor with consorts and carapacian pawns. Their patience had been wearing thin over the past couple months, and it had been getting harder and harder to stay focused and not at each others throats. 

 _Soon,_ he had been told. _Soon, things won't be as bad. Soon you will meet Rose and Dave and all of the trolls, and you won't be bored out of your minds._ He had been told many different things regarding what would happen when the ship finally docked. Things had gotten detailed and too confusing for him to make any sense of it, but the basic idea he had understood was that they would first meet their friends on the meteor, then a few days later the pre-scratch players would land, and from there they would fight the final battle. He had, of course, not really cared all that much. All he had heard was "meet your friends" and the rest hadn't really mattered. He had yet to meet Dave, and the last time he met Rose he had died, only to wake up and find her dead as well. Then there were the trolls. He would finally get to meet the trolls that had bugged him his whole life. Even when Rose had told him that not all of the trolls made it (John's first reaction was to ask who was okay, which was greeted by good news) they all managed to keep their spirits up in anticipation.

"John! John get out here!" John was pulled from his thoughts as his door slammed open. He looked up at where Jade stood (floated) in the door frame. She wore a large toothy smile with wide eyes. But these three years had been coming to a close and with it was the ever present knowledge that soon, the ship _would_ land, and they _would_ see their friends. And there was only one reason that she would have a smile that large on an otherwise ordinary day.

"Is it time?" He asked, swinging around so his feet were on the ground. Jade nodded and smiled even wider. She ran towards him and grabbed his wrist, picking him up off his bed and dragging him after.  

"Everyone else is on deck already. It looks great!" She exclaimed, and John smiled. His stomach did a flip. He was finally going to meet them all. Jade kept chattering excitedly and John smiled along. He was nervous, of that there was no doubt. They stopped in their sprint to the top of the ship for a minute to collect Davesprite, but after that they ran it full speed ahead. Davesprite and Jade were chattering excitedly, dragging John into the conversation as well. In no time at all, the emerged to the top deck. Jade shoved past all the smaller consorts, dragging John and Davesprite to the very tip of the large golden deck. They were rapidly approaching another screen, like the one they had broke through all those years ago. 

"Brace for impact!" Jade called with a laugh, sending the ship hurtling through. There was a loud shatter and many shrieks from the passengers. John looked up in wonder at the broken pieces flying around them. Time seemed to slow for a moment, capturing the image of the glass falling around him and everyone else. 

"Holy crap…" Davesprite muttered, and John nodded. Then it all disappeared. His face snapped backwards as the screen was shrinking suddenly. But before distraction took hold of him, the ship jolted, descending downwards. Many consorts shrieked again. John and Davesprite were lifted into the air at the sudden drop, then fell back to the ground. 

"Sorry!" Jade called, helping the two boys back up. The ship began to slow, getting closer and closer to the ground. The three teens looked over the edge of the ship at the checkerboard ground below them. It was just like the Skaia that they had, the one that Jade spun around and kept in her sylladex. There were a few trees scattered around, along with the unfortunate bodies of some carapaces. The reckoning had not yet taken place, apparently, for the skies were clear as they enter the atmosphere. A castle stood atop a hill in the distance, marking a base for one side of the war. Still, it was quiet. 

"Do you see them?" John asked, looking around for a tell tale meteor. Davesprite shook his head. 

"Jade, Jade!" the three teens turned around as a certain pink cat sprite began waving his arms around. John started towards it, gaining in speed. He ran along the edge of the ships rail, looking down at where Jaspersprite was pointing. On the ground was a large grey mound, with five dots in front of it. The orange and red stood out against the rest of the ground, and John broke into a large grin. He twisted his hands, summoning The Breeze, lifting himself off the ship and propelling himself forwards. He heard a faint sound of protest from behind him, but ignored it. He was so close, and nothing would change his mind that this was what he wanted. 

As he neared them he aimed his feet to the ground until he finally landed, skidding to a halt. Rose- he assumed it was Rose, but he couldn't see very well from the distance he was at- lifted her arm to wave. His smile grew and he began to run forward. As the other figures behind Rose began to move towards him, he ran faster, breaking into a sprint. The two god tiers began running at him at a similar speed, closing the gap between them. A green flash of light burst next to him, appearifying Jade next to him. She began running too, trying to make the gap between the four kids close. 

"Rose!"

"John!"

"Dave!"

"Jade!"

They skid to a halt in front of each other, tightly embracing the other three around them. Jade was in tears. Rose was smiling as wide as her face could manage. Dave was moving his hands anxiously. John squeezed them all in a tight grip, laughing and crying along with them. They were all finally together. It took a while, but soon they had calmed down, and slowly let go of each other. Dave and Jade began talking animatedly, until Jade grabbed Dave and ran him over to Davesprite. Rose threw her arms around John once again.

"I'm glad you're okay," John muttered, and she smiled, letting him hug her back. Although soon enough, she let go. The two looked at each other, and John blushed a light red. Jade returned with the two Daves, just in time for Rose to turn around to the trolls. 

"We can't forget about our troll friends though, can we?" She stated, and Jade gasped.

"The trolls!" John and Jade smiled, rushing in front of Rose towards the three trolls. First in the line, there was a glowing troll with short black hair. She wore a red skirt and a long sleeved shirt under another t-shirt. She smiled, nodding politely at Jade.

"This is Kanaya," Rose said, smiling at her. Jade squealed and threw her arms around Kanaya. Space buddies. Kanaya smiled and waved at John, and he returned the gesture with another smile and a hug.

"Anyway, this is Terezi." She continued, moving onto the next troll, a shorter one with red glasses and a large grin. John wrapped his arms around her, as did Jade. Davesprite narrowed his eyes at her, but hugged her none the less. Rose shrugged. 

"And finally, Karkat." She stepped to the shorter, scowling troll in an oversized turtleneck and jeans. He looked up at the two black haired teens who smiled down at him.

"Karkat!" Jade exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He blushed a light red before reluctantly putting his arms around her. 

"It's so good to see you, Karkat!" She exclaimed, leaning back and taking his feet off the ground. He swore and began trying to push away from her. It was obvious that hugging wasn't high on his list of favourite things. Although, John noted, he did seem so… Huggable. He smiled and wiped at his face with the back of his hand. Was he… Blushing? It seemed that he was. He let a small smile grace his face. 

"Put me down! I'm not a wriggler!" He exclaimed, just for Jade to laugh and spin him around. She finally let go, setting his feet back on the slick checkered floor where they belonged. Karkat sighed and shook out his arms. Then, he noticed John. He looked over at him. John's eyes widened and smiled even wider. So this was Karkat Vantas, the infamous grey texted troll. 

Karkat was a short troll, with scruffy black hair and shorty nubby horns. In real life, he didn't seem as angry as he let on with his typing. Sure, he looked a bit grumpy, but not angry. After Jade set him down, his arms resumed his position folded over his chest in a childish and stubborn manner. After noticing John, his eyes dropped back down to the ground, where they remained frozen, captivated by what seemed to be a twig. He nervously tapped his foot, moving it around the ground. He moved one foot, then the other, rocking back and forth nervously until he built up a steady rhythm. Not angry, not even that grumpy. Just… cute looking. 

"Come on Karkat, let me have a hug too," John laughed awkwardly, stepping forward towards Karkat. He cleared his throat. The troll looked up quickly and took a step back. The group went quiet. Karkat's eyes were wide, and John's mouth opened a bit. It shut soon after and he swallowed. 

"Karkat?" John asked, tilting his head. His arms were still open wide for the hug he had anticipated. Karkat's mouth was opening and closing rapidly, like he was at a loss for words. 

"Oooh, tension. Rose, don't you love this?" Dave said, and John turned around to him.

"Just because we just met doesn't mean I won't hit you, Dave." John muttered, turning back to Karkat. He almost looked scared, but that was hard to believe. 

"Strider you shut your fucking mouth before I crawl over to you while you sleep and ull you in the most painful way possible." Karkat snapped, straightening his back. It seemed as though he had swallowed his anxiety (or was it fear?) in exchange for a threat towards Dave. Well, he was back to normal. John furrowed his eyebrows and dropped his arms.

"Okay never mind, I'll have my hug later." He laughed, and Karkat rose an eyebrow. John shrugged and turned around, catching up to Rose.

\---------------

The first few hours that they had all spent together was delightful. They had mostly talked, hugged, laughed, and hugged some more. Soon though, it was obvious that they were all becoming tired. Mainly just fatigue rather than actual sleepiness, although in the darkness of space, and now the never ending light, time hadn't been important to any of them anymore. Dave told them that it was in fact night time, and probably time that they should sleep. Rose was the first to go. She got up and stretched, smiling at John and Jade. She looked at other six teens in the room.

"I'm so glad you all made it safely. However I think it's time that I retired for the night. In a few more days the alpha players will arrive on the battleground, and it will be time for us to fight the final battle. It's best if we save up on our rest for the next few days." She said. She smiled and turned around, heading over to the transportilizer. She stepped on it, smiling back at them. With a flash of white light, she had disappeared. The six that were left looked at each other. They spent much more of the night playing card games and catching up on what happened in the past three years. The next to leave was Kanaya, deciding that she was going to see how Rose was doing. The others smirked and merely rolled their eyes, causing the glowing girl to flush a faint greenish colour. A while after her, it was Terezi, saying she was bored of them. Then it was Jade, followed quickly by Dave. 

This left Karkat and John together, alone in the room together. The consorts and carapaces had all left the kids, deciding to explore the battleground and find their own means of shelter in old abandoned castles. The sprites had long gone, finding their own place to sleep, most likely back in the ship. However the point was that Karkat and John were left together in the lab-turned-loft. They sat in silence for a few moments, looking up at each other before stopping, then looking back to the ground. John sat on the couch with his feet tucked underneath him, while Karkat stayed with a rigid posture and his feet on the ground. John sighed in an effort to make some sort of noise to break the silence. 

"So…" He started, looking at Karkat. Karkat looked back at him and rose an eyebrow.

"What do you want, nooksniffer?" he snapped, and John started in surprise.

"How 'bout that hug then?" He asked, and Karkat froze, looking downwards. 

"Why the fuck are you so adamant on that hug, anyway?" Karkat asked, glancing up at John out of the corner of his eye. John shrugged.  

"Because I just met you for the first time in three years, and I want a hug from my friend!" John exclaimed, turning so he was facing Karkat.  "You weren't against Jade hugging you!" he added, and Karkat bit his lip.

"Yeah well that's different. She's a girl and not-" He stopped, shaking his head. He sighed, shutting his eyes and letting his head drop forward. He pulled his feet onto the couch, tucking them underneath him. John frowned. It seemed like the three years had taken a toll on Karkat's personality. That, or this was the real Karkat, and not a façade behind text. 

"Karkat?" John asked, crawling across the gap on the couch cushion until he was sat next to Karkat. John frowned, and leaned over to Karkat, wrapping his arms around his neck. As Karkat tensed up, John tightened his arms around his neck. It took a moment, but soon after there was a pair of grey hands against John's throat, pushing him back. John coughed, pulling Karkat's hands away from him. He took a deep breath of air and coughed. Looking down at Karkat, he frowned. Figures. 

"I'm sorry," He muttered, turning away from Karkat to face forward, sitting back down. The two sat in silence for a while longer. Occasionally, John glanced over at Karkat, and Karkat would do the same. Then, around the sixth or seventh time Karkat looked back at John, he noticed that his head had drooped, and his blue eyes were shut. Karkat swallowed. He had fallen asleep. Of course. Karkat took a deep breath and looked at John again.

"I really suck at talking to people, and," He paused, then swallowed. "I just… pity you, I guess. 'Like' you, in your stupid human terms. Ugh, this is stupid. But yeah, I guess I do like you." He muttered, leaning over and pressing a kiss to John's cheek, giving him a tiny little hug along with it. He pulled back, watching John intently. He seemed to be fast asleep, so calm, and peacefu-

"I'm not asleep you know," 

Karkat jumped up in the air, yelling loudly in surprise. He dropped off the couch, and just barely managed to regain his footing before standing up. The sudden surprise jumbled his footing, nearly sending him toppling over onto the ground again. In a matter of seconds his sickles appeared in his hands, and he was now armed and ready. His eyes were wide, looking down at John. His blue eyes had opened, and he was looking up at Karkat, matching his gaze. The two stared each other down, John with an apologetic smile, Karkat with a glare that could cut diamond. 

"Sorry, that was mean… Prankster's gambit?" John offered sheepishly, laughing and rubbing the back of his head. They kept staring at each other for a longer time. 

"Fuck you, Egbert." Karkat snapped, plopping down dramatically next to him, still snarling. 

"Did you…" John started, seemingly unsure. 

"What."

"Did you really mean that?" He asked, turning to face Karkat. Karkat stayed stock still, staring ahead. John reached his hand out and put his finger under Karkat's chin, trailing it towards himself, and making Karkat's face follow. The two stared at each other for a long while in silence. John could feel his heart thumping against his chest, trying to push it's way up his throat. His finger still lingered underneath the troll's chin, unsure of what to do next. Karkat more or less felt the same way. His stomach flipped, and he could feel a beating of his blood-pusher in his ears. He began leaning in towards John, and let his eyes slowly flutter close. John shut his eyes and let a smile slide onto his face, meeting Karkat's lips halfway. His lips pressed against another black pair, and his finger dropped from under Karkat's chin to his knee. Karkat, on the other hand, lifted both his arms, wrapping them around John's neck and pulling him in closer. 

"Whoa there you two. I came in 'cause I forgot my sword, not 'cause I want to watch the two of you get it on." Karkat dropped his arms and pulled away from John, and both of them snapped their heads to the transportiliser. They hadn't heard the woosh to signal someone entering the room, letting Dave catch them both off guard.

"Dave Strider I swear to fucking god I will end you." John snapped, standing up to grab the blonde's sword, chucking it across the room. Dave ducked, grabbing it off the floor and laughing. When John reached for his hammer, he was gone. John sighed and sat back down next to Karkat. The two looked at each other, and John smiled a bit.

"Yeah, I did mean it."


End file.
